Yes, it’s true. I haven’t recapped Face Off since the finale of season 4. Despite the written absence, my eyes haven’t shied away from the monster makeup effects show — and there’s no better time to do it. Face Off, now in its 8th season on SyFy, has unleashed a new twist: Return of the Champions. Although this concept is nothing new to reality television (hello, Big Brother 14), it’s a first for this series. Am I thrilled with the idea? Eh. Not really. But I have high hopes it will pay off. Anywho, the premiere episode (a two-parter to be continued) kicked off with a cast of excited newbies teaming up with one of three returning winners. While the new aspiring special effects makeup artists are loads of fun, there was something missing from this episode.

It’s hard to believe it, but Face Off has already made it to season five! Syfy is switching things up this time around, pitting several of the show’s favorite alums against a batch of rookies. What else can we expect from the new season?

This is it! The winner of Face Off season 4 was announced Tuesday after a watery challenge that took the final three aspiring special effects makeup artists to Las Vegas. For the last task of the season, Anthony, Wayne and Kris were teamed up with several of the 11 previously eliminated contestants to create a pair of waterproof makeups inspired by a live show at the Wynn Resort. Who did the judges choose as the winner? We’ve got the juicy details inside along with loads of awesome pictures!

This was without a doubt the most crucial episode of Face Off 4 to date because it determined which three contestants who would land in next week’s finale. The task turned to another alien concept based on one of SyFy’s own shows — “Defiance.” Who was able to impress the judges enough to make it to the finale and who was eliminated? We’ve got the details and loads of photos jammed inside this article!

As season four winds down, SyFy has just announced that Face Off has been renewed for a fifth edition. Face Off season five is slated to begin production in April and will premiere on a yet-to-be-determined date this summer. This news comes as no surprise since Face Off has become one of the network’s most successful programs — not to mention one of the best reality shows on TV.

The final five Face Off contestants were tasked with a creating creatures that have never been featured on the show before: Mummies! Anthony, House, Wayne, Kris and Eric F. were all taken to the famed Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. where they each chose a specific Egyptian god as their inspiration. Strangely, for this challenge, producers horribly tied in a promotion to the upcoming release of the “Evil Dead” remake. How on earth do mummies and “Evil Dead” connect? They don’t really, but host McKenzie Westmore was forced to make some sense of it by telling the aspiring makeup artists that “Evil Dead” comes into play because their mummy creations are returning to earth after years and years of decay based on the film’s Book of the Dead. Ummm… Isn’t that basically a resurrected mummy? To me, “Evil Dead” is more zombie-esque than mummies. Sorry, but this is stretching way too far just to promote the movie. Whatever. All that really mattered was how good the finished mummy makeups came out — and they were truly awesome! Some of the best we’ve seen this entire season! Creep inside this article to see close-up photos of all the finished mummy makeups and to find out who was eliminated.

Not only did Face Off deliver one of the coolest challenges ever, it doubled up the drama for this week’s episode as two of the remaining seven contestants were eliminated. The aspiring makeup artists were tasked with creating a new species that might live in any of earth’s ecosystems. That wasn’t the cool part. What took this challenge over the top in awesomeness came in the form of darkness because these creations also had to have two distinct looks — the second of which would only become visible by glowing in the dark under blacklights. The stakes and stress were high — especially when one contestant had a medical concern that pulled them away from the competition. We have all the details and loads of photos (34 total!) buried inside this article! Enjoy!

The shoddy barn doors started shaking. Blood-soaked fingers twisted out of the rickety, wooden gaps clawing for freedom. Suddenly, dozens of zombies burst out of the barn and stumbled into the sunlight swirling up dust with their faulty feet, reaching for the final eight contestants on Face Off season 4. It was an awesome way to introduce the motivation for their Foundation Challenge — to create a horde of zombies. If this wasn’t cool enough, the main challenge took it a step further with alien werewolves. Yes, werewolves from another planet. Totally awesome! Who won the challenge and who was eliminated? We have all the details packed inside this article along with loads of close-up photos!

If you’re easily freaked up by creepy crawlies, grab the Raid because this week’s episode of Face Off season 4 was totally buggin’ out! This week’s main challenge had the contestants creating their own massive bug creatures. It resulted in some absolutely stellar makeup, which is why I absolutely love this show. True talent. Period. But the finished products weren’t all great. Far from it. The bottom three were major disappointments — including one that was created by somebody who I consider as a top contestant. How did it all go down? We’ve got the details coupled enough close-up pics (26 total!) of all the finished bug creations that you could overpopulate an ant farm.

Face Off used the upcoming “Jack the Giant Slayer” movie as their inspiration in the latest Spotlight Challenge. Even the movie’s director, Hollywood icon Bryan Singer, was brought on board as a guest judge for the episode. As much as I love Face Off, I have never enjoyed when the motivation for the task is solely used to sell viewers something else. I just want the makeup effects show without having to see a one-hour commercial — especially not for one that looks as silly as “Jack the Giant Slayer.” The challenge, which was to create a two-headed giant, could have been done without the promotional tie-in. Which giants ruled and which ones were total duds? We have all the details jammed inside this article, which is packed (as always!) with loads of close-up photos (21 total!) of all the finished makeups!